Indonesia a key front in curbing HIV/AIDS: Expert

Indonesia, together with India and Pakistan, has become a major front in efforts to curb HIV/AIDS in Asia, said local HIV/AIDS expert Zubairi Djoerban on Friday, Agence France-Presse reported.

The chairman of the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and Pacific made the statement ahead of the congress opening in Bali over the weekend.

"We're concerned about Indonesia, India and Pakistan, where there is an overlapping of drug injecting and unprotected sex,” said Djoerban.

In the three countries, according to him, new infections are still offsetting positive results from preventive actions.

Djoerban added that the International Congress on AIDS -- attended by delegates from 65 countries -- will discuss strategies and try to renew the commitment to fight HIV/AIDS, especially from governments across the region.

Meanwhile, a study by the National AIDS Commission (KPA) in Cirebon, West Java, showed a major increase in the number of HIV/AIDS infections in the regency.

There are approximately 900 HIV/AIDS infections in Cirebon, a jump from 210 in 2007, according to the local KPA.

KPA officials have blamed the spread of the deadly virus in Cirebon on increasing prostitution.